Tales of Faith
Main Arc
Chapter 20: A Risky Deal
"…Uhhh…"
Luca rubbed his head. Opening his eyes slowly, he noticed that he was in a room. 'What am I doing here…? The last thing I remember is that I was at Mt. Lavaggio…' he thought. He notices his hat resting on a table beside him. He reached out and grabbed it, putting it on. '…Oh! Where are the others?' With that thought, he headed towards the door and opened it. Looking around the corridor and some of the apparatuses that were hanging, he realised that he was in Kalvin's house.
Heading through the corridor, Luca reached a living room. It didn't take long for him to see everyone. Elazul, Arturo, Cress, Heart, Alvin, Kalvin, Van… and Van's sister, Sara.
"Oh! Sara!" Luca said in surprise.
"Luca, it's nice to see you." Sara said.
Luca walked to her and shook hands. "Yeah, so Van rescued you, didn't he?"
"Err... about that…" Sara said with an uncertain voice.
Luca looked around the living room, soon realising something.
"…Where's Vanille?" Luca said.
Everyone began to look away, saying nothing.
"Guys…? Where's Vanille? Did she go somewhere?"
Van closed his eyes, walking until he was facing Luca.
"Luca." Van said. "Vanille's… It'll be better if I tell you the events."
"Huh?" Luca said. "What happened?"
"You see…" Van said, reminiscing the events that happened to them after separating from Luca and Elazul.
"Demonic Void!" Van dealt the finishing blow to a Fire Element. It crumbled apart and collapsed on the floor.
"Is everyone alright?" Van said, sheathing his broadsword.
"Yeah." Vanille, Cress, Heart, Alvin and Kalvin replied.
"B-Barely…" Arturo muttered. "How can all of you withstand this heat…?"
"Arturo…" Van said. "Could you bear just a bit longer…?" He turned to face Kalvin. "How much further now?"
"It's just right here!" Kalvin said, pointing to a pathway.
"That's good to hear." Van placed his hands on his hips. "But… we haven't seen Luca or Elazul at all before we reached here."
The rest looked down upon hearing Van. "Hmm… where could those two be…?" Van wondered. He shook his head. "Worrying now won't help. For now, we'd have to do everything without them." He looked at the pathway. "Let's go in there first."
Walking along the pathway, the party enters a large circular room. It was no different than the rest of the rooms that they have went through: rocky flooring, magma rivers at the sides and a searing temperature, in Arturo's case.
"So, where's the Serpentine, aunt?" Van asked.
Kalvin took a few steps forward. "Hmm… I can't say it just yet!"
"And why is that, aunt?"
"Because I have a plan, remember? To save your sister!" Kalvin reminded him.
"Okay… I'll trust you on this…" Van folded his arms. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like that plan.
"You've finally come…" a voice spoke.
"!" Van pulled out his broadsword and swung it behind him. As to be expected, the figure evaded his attack. As he floated above the group, descending slowly until he was just above the floor, the Hydreigon with the black mantle looked at them with a calm look.
"Dhaos!" Cress shouted.
"So, that's the Demon King everyone's telling me?" Alvin said, reaching for his gunblades.
"Yes." Heart replied.
"Hm, I see that Elazul isn't here." Dhaos said. "And the little Mage."
"And what will you do if they were here?" Van asked.
"That, I can't say."
Dhaos looked at the ceiling. "Hm. The Serpentine's definitely in this room, but… I heard that this ore is fragile and one careless move will break it and it will be useless." He said, and looked at the party. "I do not wish to fight. Leave me be with my own business."
"Never." Van pointed his broadsword at Dhaos. "You're going to pay for kidnapping my sister!" He rushed towards Dhaos, jumping up. "Hell Pyre!" He spun around and he sent out a fireball from his broadsword towards Dhaos. The latter simply raised his left head, erecting a barrier to block the fireball.
"Stop this futile attempt." Dhaos said as the barrier dissipated. "All I need is the Serpentine."
"Alright."
"Uhh…?" Van lowered his broadsword and turned to the one who said that: his aunt.
"What… are you… doing…?" he said.
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Kalvin assured him. "It's all part of the plan!"
'Which you didn't even tell us what it is about…' Van thought. Kalvin advanced towards Dhaos casually, who raised his left head defensively. "Hm. If this is a trick… mark my words…"
"No need to worry!" Kalvin said, grabbing her staff. "You need a Serpentine ore, don't you? Well, you've come to the right place!"
Cress watched them from where she stood. "What the hell is Kalvin doing!?" she said.
"I do not know…" Arturo said. Just as he finished his sentence, he looked ahead to see that Kalvin stopped walking and raised her staff. "Alright! Time for an impulse of flames!" Kalvin said. "Flame Lance!" As she finished chanting, a fiery projectile in the shape of a lance appeared and shot towards the ceiling. The lance blasted a part of the ceiling off, causing the section to crumble down.
"Whoa!" Arturo watched the section crumble apart and dust began to surround the section that was blasted by Flame Lance. Through the cloud of dust, something fell off from the ceiling. As it dropped from the cloud, it is revealed to be a green ore. Kalvin raised her staff, letting the ore land on the tip of the staff. "Wh-Whoa…!" Kalvin moved around to balance the green ore on the tip of her staff. "Whoa-hah…Whoa-hah… Ho-la!" She toppled a bit to the right before the ore started to balance perfectly on her staff and she straightened herself. "Yup! This'll be fine!" she said. Tilting her staff, the ore fell on her free paw.
"That's… the Serpentine…" Dhaos said.
"Hold on now." Kalvin said.
"What is it, now?" Dhaos questioned.
"Did you really expect me to give you the Serpentine without getting something in return, hmm?" Kalvin said.
"Hn. State what you want, then."
"My nephew told me that you've got my niece, Sara." Kalvin told Dhaos. "If you want the Serpentine…"
"Fine." Dhaos raised his right head. As he did,
"Van! And Aunt Kalvin!" Sara gasped.
"Sara!" Van shouted.
"Hmm… On the count of three…" Kalvin said, heading slowly to Dhaos with the Serpentine. Dhaos moved closer as well, lightly holding Sara's back.
"One… Two… Three!" Kalvin announced.
Dhaos pushed Sara lightly to Kalvin… and Kalvin threw the Serpentine to him and he catches it.
"The hell?! She gave the ore!" Cress shouted.
'Placing my trust on you… is the greatest and dumbest mistake I've ever made.' Van thought.
"Finally…" Dhaos said, gazing at the green ore. "It is finally complete…" He turned away from the group, floating away from them slowly. As he opened a portal, a loud screech echoed in the room.
"What was that?!" Cress said.
"I said that I do not wish to fight, did I not?" Dhaos said. "I never said that I won't be the one who will fight. Farewell." As he finished his words and entered through the portal, a harsh breeze blew through the large hole at the wall. Everyone in the room looked at the creature that entered the area. It was an avian that resembled a cross-breed between a peacock and a phoenix. It had mainly gold and red feathers with a white underside, yellow tail-feathers and green feathers at the tip of its' wings. Around its' neck, it had a green stripe. Its' head had a feathered yellow crest with a yellow beak, black rings around its' red eyes. Lastly, it had darkly coloured feet and legs with four toes and long talons.
"That's… the Spirit of Rebirth, Ho-Oh…" Heart said.
"But, something's wrong with it!" Van said. Van is right. The pupils of the Ho-Oh; they weren't normal. They were glowing with darkness. He faced Kalvin and Sara. "Get out of this room, now!" He faced back at the Ho-Oh, readying his broadsword. "We'll handle this!"
"Oi, Van!" Kalvin said.
"Just go!" Van shouted.
"All right! All right! I get it!" Kalvin sighed, taking Sara along with her as the two headed to the exit of the room. The party then turned their attention to Ho-Oh. "It's coming!" Vanille said.
Ho-Oh, Spirit of Rebirth
"Alvin, Arturo, Cress!" Van said. "We'll go to the front row to attack Ho-Oh! Use any artes, moves! Anything that can down it to the floor!" He faced Vanille and Heart. "Vanille, attack from afar! Heart! Heal us when we're in a pinch!"
"Haaah!" Van swung his broadsword upwards. Then, he quickly jumped up and swing his broadsword. "Crescent Strike!" Ho-Oh flapped down, knocking Van down. "Guh!" He rolled back and pushed himself off the ground to land on his feet. Vanille drew out some arrows and shot it at Ho-Oh, but the avian knocked the arrows away easily.
"Heart, support me!" Cress rushed forward, holding her sledgehammer.
"Alright, Sharpness!" Heart raised her staff, covering Cress with a red veil of light. "Okay! Rising Blast!" Cress dragged the sledgehammer's head on the ground, swinging it up and releasing a projectile up from the ground to attack Ho-Oh. "Feel the roar of lightning!" Cress jumped up afterwards and first swung her leg to create a blast of energy shaped like a lion's head at Ho-Oh, managing to knock it down from the air. "Thunder Beast!" She then swung her sledgehammer down, creating a burst of electricity on the floor.
Ho-Oh let out a loud screech, beginning to flap its' wings as it lifted itself from the ground. As it did, the area around it was hit by a wave of wind, forcing everyone to shield themselves from the wave. Getting itself airborne where no one could reach it via their attacks, its' beak began to spew out flames.
"What's it doing now?" Vanille asked.
"It's preparing to unleash Sacred Fire!" Alvin warned.
Cress turned around to face Heart. "Heart! Cast Force Field!" Cress said. "Everyone! Get close to Heart!"
"Alright." Heart held on to her staff and began to chant. "O brilliant goddess, become a light as a wall to allay arms…" As she chanted, a purplish circle appeared around her. Everyone managed to make it near Heart as she finished the chant. "…Force Field!" Heart finished as Ho-Oh released Sacred Fire at the battlefield. But the attack failed to impact the party as a purplish dome appeared around them and shielded them from the flames.
"Whoa, that is an impressive barrier…" Arturo commented.
"Hold on, how do we attack now?!" Alvin asked.
"We can't." Cress answered. "While Force Field is active, our attacks will be blocked as well."
"Then… we can't attack?" Vanille asked.
"So, how-" Alvin was cut off when the Force Field suddenly shook. Everyone turned their attention to see Ho-Oh bashing on the barrier. "What the?!"
"The Force Field won't hold long!" Heart told everyone. True to Heart's words, the section where Ho-Oh violently assaulted had cracks forming slowly. It let out a furious screech, attacking the barrier once more. The Force Field shattered apart. "Aah!" Heart staggered backwards. "Ngh…!" Cress prepared her sledgehammer to shield Heart. Ho-Oh let out a cry as it dove down towards the party.
"Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze."
The Ho-Oh stopped advancing towards the group. It started to grunt in shock. Somehow, it looked lost, as its' head turned left and right. The melody was too familiar with almost everyone as Vanille began to sing. "It's confused… It doesn't know where it is…" Arturo said.
"Stone Wall!" Alvin shot orange bullets above Ho-Oh. The bullets build up together and created a large column of rocks. "Rock Mountain!" He shot the wall as it began to fell, shattering it to large boulders that begun to knock Ho-Oh down on the ground. The rocks built up above Ho-Oh until it could no longer be seen from under the mountain of boulders.
Vanille stopped singing and collapsed on the floor.
Arturo looked at the mountain of boulders, where Ho-Oh was buried under. "…Is it…?" he asked.
Heart closed her eyes, muttering a prayer. Cress began to speak. "Heart told me this: Ho-Oh is a Spirit of Rebirth. Should it pass away, its' extinguished flames will be reborn as a new flame. It does not matter if it dies; it will continue to live on…"
"I noticed something…" Van said. "We forgot all about Luca and Elazul!"
Everyone gasped. "Oh, yeah! That's right!" Alvin said. "So, you want to group up with your family or something?"
"That's it." A voice out of nowhere spoke.
"Hu-" No one else had time to finish that word as all of them were suddenly blown away by a force. "Gyaaah!" Everyone shouted as they were scattered around. Everyone but Vanille. Groaning from the sudden force, Van and Arturo pushed themselves up on the floor to notice Vanille hovering slightly towards a portal. "Isn't that…?" Arturo asked.
"Dhaos!" Van got to his feet and rushed towards Vanille. He leaped out and reached for Vanille.
"Guh!" Van landed on the ground as he couldn't grab Vanille as she entered the portal which closed upon her entrance. "Damn it!" Van slammed a clenched fist on the floor.
Everyone got up from the floor, looking at Arturo's direction, where the portal was. "Vanille, no…" Heart gasped, holding her hands in front of her mouth. "We have to find her!" Van ran out of the room, meeting Kalvin and Sara. "Aunt! Sara!"
"Perfect timing, Van!" Sara said. "We found Luca and Elazul!"
"You found them? At least this saves time." Van said. "After we get to them, we need to get out of to find Vanille!"
"After that, we found you and Elazul unconscious at a pathway, and brought you two here… but we couldn't get Vanille…" Van finished his recollection to Luca.
Luca was completely silent after he heard the whole story. Most of him said not to believe it, but the rest that said the opposite was somehow superior to tell him to believe it. He made a promise to her. He will help her find her memories, but how can he do that? Especially when she's not here?
"P…P…Please… tell me… that's not true…" Luca finally spoke after a while.
"Unfortunately…" Arturo sighed. "It's true."
"Then…! Then…!" Luca scampered around the room. "We have to find Dhaos and rescue Vanille!"
"Hold on! There's a lot of things we didn't want to believe either!" Alvin said. "Especially since she told us about Dhaos!" He pointed his paw at Sara. The Mincinno walked up to Luca. "Luca, you may not believe this either, but Dhaos isn't pure evil… he fights… for his belief…" Sara began to tell Luca the events that happened during her travel with Dhaos to .
There was no conversation ever since they began the journey. Until now.
Sara floated through a spatial tunnel, her eyes focused at Dhaos. The Demon King that was feared by all, who'd have thought that he was soft? Was that cruelty just a veil? Nonetheless, she kept looking at Dhaos, who paid no attention to her.
"…Do you hate us?" Dhaos said something.
"Huh?" Sara didn't know what he meant by 'us'.
"Dragon-Type Pokémon…" Dhaos said. "Do you hate Dragon-Type Pokémon?"
"Uh… why would I hate them?" Sara responded.
Dhaos closed his eyes. "I see… So, you didn't know about it…" Things became silent again before Dhaos once more spoke.
"Did you ever wonder…? Why do Dragon-Type Pokémon take quite a long period to become stronger and evolve?"
Sara didn't say anything and started to think. As she began to realise, Dragon-Type Pokémon are powerful. However, they took the longest time out of all the types to grow to such power. But… come to think of it, she has never seen Dragon-Type Pokémon at all until she met Elazul at Fone Village.
"The blood of Pokémon. It's just like what the mortals referred to as the species 'human', our blood grows in a steady rate, and we can lose blood in the same fashion via wounds. For the case of draconic blood, time ... slows down on us. Chronologically, we are growing in the same rate as other Pokémon. However, physically, our blood has a slow rate of growth. It's not the exact thing to be said now, but whatever the case, Dragon-Type Pokémon's growth is never the same as compared to other types. This phenomenon never had a solution on how we can grow with the exact rates just like other Pokémon. Because of this, our bodies grow slower because of the paranormal toll of time. Yet, our powers grow stronger than the average Pokémon." Dhaos explained. "And… that was the just the beginning of the discrimination… There were several more factors that led to… that."
"Discrimination on Dragon-Type Pokémon… It has always left a bitter taste in my mouth… just like the Hybrids… We can never live in peace. The whole world will never live in peace and harmony. That's why… I have to change it. No, I must change this corrupt system of evil." Dhaos sighed. "The irony is that… who is good or evil? I may be in the right, but… I may also be in the wrong…"
Dhaos looked in front of him. "We've arrived."
"That's all he told me before he entered Mt. Lavaggio." Sara finished her explanation. Luca was once again, silent. Now, he was too confused. Who is Dhaos? Is he even an enemy? Wait… what side does he work on? But… it was somehow right. There's no good or evil; it only derives from the perceptions of many. There were a lot of things that Dhaos has caused to terrorize Niata, but… somehow, he felt a small spark… of hope in Dhaos.
"Uh… Um…" Luca didn't know what to say after hearing about Dhaos. "Nnn…"
"We… are not sure whether to trust the information about Dhaos either." Cress said. "But… Van and Kalvin are the only ones who now believe in Sara. Honestly… I don't know either…"
"I don't think there's anything we can do for now…" Heart said. "Maybe… we can tell the Lake Guardians about this…"
"Oh, yeah! That's right!" Luca rummaged through his robes to find the Guardian Emblem. "Uhh… where is it…?" He continued to rummage through the pockets for quite a while. As everyone stared at Luca trying to find the Guardian Emblem, there is no doubt about the thought that is running through their minds that would say: 'Just what does he keep in his robes?'
"Nmm… Found it!" Luca pulled out the Guardian Emblem out of a robe pocket. "Okay… Uhh… Hmm… It's not responding…" Luca looked at it.
"It's not responding?" Van looked at the Guardian Emblem. "…Must be the temperature. Well… let's head back to the Kingdom of Namdiascar and tell them ourselves."
"..." Luca looked down, clearly depressed.
Van sighed. 'With the current situation here, Luca's not going to be fine at this rate… it'll be best to leave him alone for now…' he thought. He looked over to Elazul. Ever since they told him everything, Elazul has never said anything at all, less look at any of them.
"Aunt, we'll be leaving now." Van said.
"Alright." Kalvin said. "Now just make sure to eat a balanced meal every day, and…" Van placed a hand on his face and groaned.
Two hours later, the train has arrived at Roundome Station. Everyone on the train alighted on the platform, heading outside the train station. The party looked at the settlement around them. "Let's head back to the Kingdom of Namdiascar, fast." As everyone began to head to the right of the train station, Luca sighed loudly and began to walk, until he heard a voice.
'Luca!'
'Vanille?!' Luca thought. He was sure. That was Vanille's voice. 'How…?'
'I… I don't know…' Vanille said in Luca's mind. 'I'm not sure… but… I think… I'm in a mountain… and there's a chasm… and it keeps raining…'
'Wait… I think I know where you are…' Luca thought. 'Hold on…' He took out the Niata map from one of his robe pockets. 'Mountains… a chasm… a place where rain falls…' He soon found the exact location where Vanille managed to describe at most. 'Alright! I'm coming, Vanille!'
There was no response.
'Vanille?' Luca thought. '…Oh… I get it…' He turned away. 'Sorry, everyone… I've got to keep my promise to Vanille!' He began to run in the opposite direction the group was heading towards. Meanwhile, back at the group…
"Did anyone see Luca?" That question came from Arturo, who was looking around the group. As everyone began to look around, they noticed that Luca was missing from the group.
Elazul was the only one who didn't look around, but his head just turned around. "..."
Elsewhere, the rain has already started to pour down on that area. Normally, all the residents or visitors alike are under shelters to avoid getting drenched in this weather. Amid the heavy shower, however, a stranger clad in an attire consisting of mainly black along with a black hat that covered his eyes walked on one of the many pathways of this town. Other than the sounds of the heavy downpour, the sound of a coin being flipped regularly was drowned in the noise.
"Hmm…" The stranger continued walking, his feet usually sending water droplets out from the puddles he stepped in.
"Oh…?"
"I know you very well."
"Proposition?" The stranger said. He stopped flipping his coin, letting it land on his palm. He looked down at the coin, then back to the other stranger. "Heh, looks like I'm all ears this time. So… what's the proposition…?"
Chapter 20 End
Current Party:
Luca R. Ezperanda (Politoed) – Bookworm (His dedication towards books… may be too addictive.)
Weapon: Oak Staff +1 (Staff)
Hello… Sorry I took so long to update. I've been very busy with exams, which is coming next week. So, I must prepare for this… But… at least two more chapters till the end of the Main Arc!
Skit: I'm coming!
Luca: (tired) "Huff… Huff… Vanille… I… I made a promise to you! I'm not going to break it! Hold on…" (determined face) "I'm coming! I'm going to rescue you!"